Page 7 - 2019 Annual Report
P. 7
CITIZEN SCIENCE PROGRAMS
“The natural world is inherently Kelp Monitoring
holistic and demands of students (i.e. Kelps are brown macroalgae that come in an array of conformations and sizes.
people) that they participate if they Generally, the brown macroalgaes are broken up into groups with the kelps,
wish to share in the deep knowledge, rockweeds and others. Kelps fall in the order Laminariales. They have a general
which the natural world represents.” structure of a hold fast (anchor), a cylindrical stipe with one or more leaves at
various positions, from which they uptake nutrients.
- Braden Blackmon, teacher, School
District 46 Majority of the previous literature in BC has been on mapping kelp beds of large
canopy forming kelps such as Macrocystis and Nerocystis species. These beds
play a significant role in the marine ecosystem as they make up underwater
“forest” communities that serve in carbon sequestration, oxygen production,
habitat for marine life and even extend to human health and beauty products.
Kelp forests are economically important and have links with past octopus,
abalone, sea urchin and herring industries. Evidence suggests that some of the
commercial fishery salmon also rely on kelp beds and include pink, chum and
coho salmon while sockeye and chinook salmon sometimes utilize the beds.
The goal in 2019 was to identify and delineate any current beds within the area.
Beds were to be delineated via boat surveys using a handheld Garmin etrex 20
to obtain way point of the bed edges. Discussions were to be held between local
divers and mariners to gain local knowledge of kelp beds within the areas.
A total of 4 surveys were completed between May and October 2019 to identify
kelp beds. No kelp beds were identified in any of the historic locations.
Salish Sea Marine Survival Monitoring Program
2019 marked the fifth year in which the Lagoon Society has been involved in the
Salish Sea Marine Survival Program. We have partnered with the Pacific Salmon
Foundation to gather oceanographic data in the Malaspina Strait, in an effort to
understand fluctuation in returns of various salmonid species within the shared
waters of British Columbia and Washington.
We are currently one of 8 community-led teams working synchronously in
locations across the Strait of Georgia. Teams use the identical sampling
protocols at the same times of year in different locations, resulting in valuable
spatial and temporal data that will help model the physical, chemical, and
biological changes in the Strait of Georgia.
Citizen science volunteers working with the Lagoon Society focus on
measurements of lower food chain organisms such as phytoplankton and
zooplankton, as well as abiotic factors known to affect those organisms such
as nutrient availability, in order to understand bottom-up effects on salmonid
population health. Each year, our volunteers leave Secret Cove aboard the M/V
Marina III with retired prawn fisherman, Andre Alaire, to sample at 5 different
stations – this year we went out a total of 22 times. This initiative has been an
amazing opportunity for local residents to become part of a network, collecting
data that has already been utilized and cited by major universities and by DFO.
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